Members of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters hug after Ammon Bundy, center, left, one of the sons of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, spoke with reporters during a news conference Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, near Burns, Ore. The group calls itself Citizens for Constitutional Freedom and has sent a "demand for redress" to local, state and federal officials. Armed protesters took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday after participating in a peaceful rally over the prison sentences of local ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

AP content must be clear for readers around the world, and “militiamen” may be confusing — readers might think that the people involved are members of a government-sanctioned paramilitary force who are rebelling against government authority.

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Kristen Hare covers the media for the Poynter Institute. Her work for Poynter has earned her a Mirror Award nomination. Hare, a graduate of the University of Missouri's School of Journalism, spent 5 years as the Sunday features writer and an assistant editor at the St. Joseph (Missouri) News-Press, and five years as a staff writer covering race, immigration, the census and aging at the St. Louis Beacon. She also spent two years with the Peace Corps in Guyana, South America. Hare and her family live outside Tampa.